Baltic-Klipper

On Dec 19, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has started an investigation into the loss of refrigerated containers on Dec 6, when the 'Baltic Klipper' was sailing in the Solent, heading to Portsmouth. The reefer was preparing to embark a pilot around three nautical miles east of the Isle of Wight in preparation for entry into the southern England port when the accident occurred at 6 p.m. Subsequent to the incident the Solent deep-water channel was closed for a short period, causing disruption to local ports due to the potential risk to shipping of collision with semi-submerged containers. 13 containers have now washed ashore on the south coast at Selsey, Bognor Regis and Pagham Harbour, which has resulted in foodstuffs and plastic insulation being deposited on the beaches. Three containers remained unaccounted for, while a clean-up operation was still underway on the beaches and close to shore for the other containers and their cargo. So far, seven containers have washed up in Selsey, two at Pagham Harbour and two at Bognor Regis. At the time of the incident there were rough seas with a significant swell, and strong south-westerly winds. Zhe MAIB said initial investigative findings “indicatef that some containers were not properly secured for the vessel’s arrival in port, and they were lost overboard when Baltic Klipper rolled heavily as it manoeuvred to pick up a pilot for entry into Portsmouth.” The MAIB has started its main safety investigation to establish the cause of events that led to this accident, and to understand why it happened, and make recommendations to prevent similar accidents reoccurring. The investigation will focus on the practice of removing cargo securing arrangements while vessels are underway before entering port and the impact of the pollution. By Dec 20, contractors and volunteers had recovered six containers and partial containers and collected more than 51 tonnes of organic waste and nearly three tonnes of general waste along a 28-km long coastline.

Five days after eight containers carrying bananas were washed overboard from the 'Baltic Klipper' in Southampton Water, bananas in the thousands were still being washed up onto the beaches of the West Sussex coast in southern England. A total of 16 containers were lost overboard, additional toppled containers were aboard the ship. As of Dec 9, 11 of the 16 containers had beached. The HM Coastguard deployed a helicopter and an aircraft to search for the missing containers. Police, customs authorities, and the Receiver of Wrecks have warned beachcombers not to eat the bananas or to take them home. Due to the stormy and windy weather in the Selsey area, bananas have been swept off the beach into coastal roads, making for slippery driving conditions in some areas. Seatrade, which operates the vessel, said its insurers were fully engaged in the process. The 'Baltic Klipper' left Portsmouth again on Dec 13, next headed to Bridgetown with an ETA as of Dec 22. Report with photos: https://maritime-executive.com/article/bananas-ahoy-as-overboard-containers-wash-ashore

Volunteers continued to help clear plastic and foam from beaches in West Sussex after containers lost from the 'Baltic Klipper' washed ashore. Seven washed up in Selsey, two at Pagham Harbour and two at Bognor Regis. Dozens of volunteers have been clearing debris since the incident, but more arrived with each high tide and it was unclear how the containers would be removed. The West Sussex County Council (WSCC) could not confirm how long work was expected to last or how containers would be removed from the beaches. The remaining containers which fell from the 'Baltic Klipper' were unaccounted for. The WSCC, which is leading the multi-agency operation, brought in the environmental management company Ambipar to use established shoreline clean up assessment techniques to quantify, collect and categorise the waste. Ambipar was reviewing all available information and gathering further data to support the long-term plan for the clean-up and future actions. The focus was to minimise any marine and environmental impact by addressing the hotspot areas identified. Larger insulation pieces were collected by hand, as using machinery could create smaller fragments that pose a risk of further pollution. The overall plan included the mechanical collection of the smaller, grain sized material associated with the incident. Ambipar increased the size of the response team to speed up the collection process and specialist machinery was expected on site by next week. The 'Baltic Klipper' remained stationary in Portsmouth as of Dec 12. Report with photos: https://www.aol.com/articles/race-stop-wrecked-containers-polluting-163213825.html

The US Coast Guard has suspended the search for a missing crew member of the 'Baltic Klipper' approximately 1,200 miles northeast of Bermuda on Jan 10. The Coast Guard crews searched more than 24 hours and over 980 square miles for the missing man, who reportedly fell from the vessel. Watchstanders from the Coast Guard Fifth District Command Center had received a call from Portugal Maritime Rescue Coordination Center Ponta Delgada, at approximately 12 a.m., on Jan 9, notifying them that a man had fallen over board.

The US Coast Guard is searching for a man who fell from the 'Baltic Klipper' approximately 1,200 miles northeast of Bermuda in the morning of Jan 9, 2020.Watchstanders from the Coast Guard Fifth District Command Center received a call from Portugal Maritime Rescue Coordination Center Ponta Delgada at approximately 12 a.m., notifying them about the accident. The Fifth District Command Center watchstanders issued an Enhanced Group Call message requesting mariners to keep a lookout for the person in the water. The Coast Guard was searching with an aircrew aboard a HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City and requested the assistance of nearby vessels to search via the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System. The ship was enroute from Manzanillo to Flushing.